Solo Billie’s Letter

[Billie]

11th Day of Summer, 514AV
Dusk
Billie paced around her room in the travelers Inn looking anxious and pissed off at the same time. She’d managed to forget about her ‘fathers’ petching letter for a long time, but just now it had fallen from pocket of one of her jackets and she had been slapped in the face with curiosity and fear. She didn’t want to know what her father had to say, but at the same time, what if it were important? What if there was something contained within that letter that she absolutely must know? Sighing, she picked the letter up. Her hands were actually shaking now. “Stop being such a petching wimp, it’s just a letter. You’re not like this. Open the damn thing already” She told herself out loud.

Finally, she unfolded the worn parchment and read the first sentence. Daughter. Her heart leapt into her mouth upon reading that first word, still, she kept reading.

“Daughter, that is That... is all I know how to address you I'm afraid. I've never found anything useful that led me to know you better unfortunately, only the cold trail left behind in the endeavor to learn of your location. The process of tracking you down had been difficult but I know now where you reside, thus I can address this letter to you knowing that you'll receive it in due time after my partner discovers your location. Deep down I truly wish I had the time and chance to learn more, to discover and even meet you before the end of it all. I say this because I know here soon I will meet my own demise, something I've expected for a while now but managed to hold off for a time. It has been a long journey, and the time spent away from my son in Zeltiva has made it hard for me.”

Her father tracked her down in order to have this letter delivered? Then why not meet up with her in person? Why not talk to her face to face if this contact was so important? She felt a flash of cold anger. What nerve the man had, to try and sound like he cared at all. Billie, at this point, didn’t give a toss weather he was dead or still alive. The only thing that made her continue reading was the part at the end of the paragraph which mentioned he had a son.

[Billie]

That's right. You have a brother. Several in fact, as there are several who were born in the Maze family. The boy I raised is named Ricky, he couldn't be a finer example for the idea of a family man, as he's taken to heart all the principles I've raised him on. Though I fear he too may fall victim of what I can only say is the curse in our family name, either way should you seek out a family you can rely on he can do just that. He lives in Zeltiva, and serves as part of the Wave Guard. He also has a beautiful wife and will be a father soon, so you and your brother will either have a niece or nephew soon.

A brother… Ricky. That caught Billies attention. She actually had a family, and she’d visited the city he lives in more than once. “Son of a petch…” She muttered to herself, her eyes opened wide. It wasn’t much, really. After all, he was still a stranger, this half brother of hers. But the same kind of fear she felt when debating weather or not to read her fathers letter she felt when she considered making her way to Zeltiva and showing up on his doorstep out of the blue. Surely this ‘family-man’ didn’t want such a rude surprise bursting in on his life? Not only that, but he’d written about some ‘family curse’. What the petch did that mean? She could only read on and find out.

That reminds me. You aren't the only child that has been born, as there are other siblings out there in the world. Namely your twin brother who was named Roscoe. For some reason your mother separated the two of you at birth, in turn making it difficult to track you down when I spent the eight years away from Zeltiva searching for the other family members. I have yet to share with Ricky about his lineage with every other sibling but nevertheless, he is a good soul that will help you should you decide to seek him out. As for Roscoe I've no doubt you would wish to seek him out, he was in Sunberth last I checked and even then I can't say he is still there. Whatever the case do not forget that your family is what should come first, don't let anything else get in the way of that. Had things turned out different then surely... I would've brought all of you together when I had the chance, still now is not the time to wallow in my past regrets.

Billie’s jaw dropped when she read about her twin brother. Born in Sunberth like her, yet they were separated. She grew wistful, imagining life with a brother. She couldn’t say she’d change it though. If her mother didn’t separate them, she’d never have met Sadie. Sadie was greater than any flesh and blood. “Family should come first, huh.” She muttered “So where the petch were you ‘father?’” She desided she was glad he left her and her biological mother there. This man didn’t sound like he’d do a better job raising her than Sadie. In fact, if she’d ended up with him, she’d probably be as foolish and as cowardly as he was. With a heart full of trepidations, she read the last two paragraphs.

[Billie]

Instead I must end this message with a warning, know that you're still a direct descendant of the Maze line. The name holds little meaning now but there is something to it, something I would call a curse that repeats to no end. Certainly you aren't a stranger to it even now, as you may have already suffered enough ordeals in your lifetime. Our curse believe it or not is real, even if the others I've told may think me mad. We're doomed to face a lifetime of tragedies, and in turn we ourselves may find our own lives cut short from such sorrows and regrets. Death is no stranger to me as I've eluded her time and time again, only this time I welcome her knowing that what I've written now will finally reach you. You and all the others tied by the blood of our family. Please, don't think this a simple matter or practical joke. Misfortune looms over us constantly, and we must all find a way to stick together if the family name ever hopes to endeavor.

That's all the room I have unfortunately, this parchment grew smaller and smaller with the more I wrote. Even if I never got to meet you or any of your siblings, just know deep down that your father truly loves you even in death.

Burten Maze

The last paragraph sent her over the edge. He wrote about a curse that she was directly involved in, a curse that would cause them many sorrows and regrets in their lifetime. Billie closed her eyes for a moment, feeling nauseous. He blamed his own regrets on the ‘curse’ and in turn encouraged Billie to bring the family together so that the Maze line could continue. Billie was trembling with anger, and a deep despair. She suddenly felt the weight of responsibility on her shoulders. It didn’t help that Burten had ended the message by telling her that he loved her.

Billie folded the parchment again and sat down on her bed, in stunned silence. Both faces that she had grown to love were haunting her now. Sadie’s bloodied face, beaten to an unrecognizable pulp. Lacey’s cold, dead eyes, so lacking the life that had once made them shine and sparkle. All that suffering on her own, and now she was supposed to grow close to supposed relatives? What if she found somewhere she belonged again. What if she found her family and grew to care for them as much as she had Sadie or Lacey? Would they just perish horrible and disappear from her life? “What were you doing all this time, father!? Why didn’t you unite the family yourself! It’s been 24 years!” She cried and put her head in her hands, tugging on her short brown hair until it was painful.

She shook her head “I’ll never bend under the weight of sorrow” She muttered “I owe it to my loved ones, and to myself” She sat up straight and took the letter again, reading the names mentioned “Roscoe, and Ricky Maze” She said out loud “Who knows who else…” She whispered. “One day I’ll meet all of my family… and figure out where I belong, curse or no curse…” She told herself. “Lacey told me not to be lonely forever, after all.”

Finally, after reading the letter through a couple more times, she crawled under her covers and fell asleep, far too tired to plan out her next move that night. Tomorrow, she would have a good long think about her life now, and what she wanted her life to be years from now. She thought about this as her eyes slowly closed and she slipped into unconsciousness.

[Nightmare]

Billie Nye :

Skills	Amount
N/A	N/A

Lore

Ricky Maze: Long lost brother

Ricky Maze: Live in Zeltiva

Roscoe: Twin brother

Roscoe: Last know location in Sunberth

Burten Maze: Cowardly father

Maze family curse

Additional Comments: Unfortunately you did not exercise any skills... but you did get plenty of lore! Enjoy your grades. It was an enjoyable read with a lot of plot build up, keep at it!

Please PM me if you have any questions or concerns.